@@cypher4528 everyone had to unlock it before the patch came out, after the patch it changes the ability to be retaining guard gauge, and u now have the roll off ground in your base kit, so u dont even have to lvl the p organ anymore for it.
Something I noticed that was pretty cool is that the npc summon uses the current boss's boss weapon so you get a preview of the loot you can get when you win.
The sentence: "The elevator pitch for Lies of P is Bloodborne meets Sekiro meets twinkified Pinokio" truly shows how the souls like genre has elvolved throughout the years
To my suprise, Lies of P made me realize that Carlo Collodi wrote one of the first science fictions where machines wish to become men, and men wish to become Gods by becoming machines. Disney ruined it for me.
Same here. I gotta say, it made me realize that while Lies of P is amazing in plenty of its aspects, Fromsoft are still in a league of their own when it come to so many. Mostly the level design, world design, and the lore and the way the story is told. Lies of P has AMAZING combat, both with enemies and boss fights, but not much more than that. If they hire a really good narrative director for their next project, it could be legendary.
You know, for a channel that started out with meme videos like Giant Door Squad, we've got to admit that Iron Pineapple has evolved into one of the most thoughtful and well spoken game reviewers out there. Bravo!
Another thing people dont talk about often, is that when you finish the game the first time, you get a puppet translator for the following runs, so you can actually know what the puppet bosses are saying to you, increasing even more the game history!
what!? how has none of the videos mentioned this I've been thinking what is the value of a replay other than playstyle. Loved the game just have lots on the to play list.
Now that I've finished the game, I can confidentially watch this video. Unbelievable. I actually can't believe how good this game is. I'm slotting this higher than some FromSoft games, which I NEVER thought I'd say.
What's most interesting to me is that this game actually has consistently really enjoyable or good bosses. So far I'm only unsatisfied with the 2nd fight with the brotherhood, and that's mostly because I haven't beaten them yet (but I do think the gank mechanic of the fight would be better without status effect spam, or tweaking the female rabbits speed/dodging so heavy builds can do damage more consistently) I'd say this game on avg has better bosses than a fromsoft game. Not as good as the best that fromsoft has to offer, but I'd take a whole game of enjoyable good bosses over a long game with a lot of meh bosses with some amazing bosses sprinkled in (usually in the dlc or at the end). Like the bosses are genuinely something I wish fromsoft themselves would look at and take inspiration from. I do hope lies of P gets a dlc. If they are to follow fromsoft in truest fashion, then they need to release a dlc/expansion that they pack with most of their best content. No other soulslike has gotten that chance yet since they have historically never been on par with fromsoft games to begin with. Praying for a dlc. Praying even harder that lords of the fallen is as good as I'm hoping it is. That's the one I'm really looking forward to personally. 2 amazing soulslikes within 3 months of each other would be a blessing.
@@trevorveillette8415yeah that BRB rematch is so shit. The only boss in the game I’d put in like D tier on a tier list which is really disappointing because their first fight is something I’d put in S tier. And yeah hopefully we get a dlc for LoP. Maybe we’ll get to learn more about Gemini and explore the Workshop Tower Ruins. Lord’s of the Fallen has also piqued my interest, though I’m not really into the medieval settings rn. I had enough of that in Elden Ring
@@couchpotato5657 I really like dark and corrupted world designs. It's why bloodborne is my favorite artistically aside from the lovecraftian inspiration. Stylistically I think lords of the fallen is more appealing than dark souls, since it leans really hard into the dark gothic style. I will say that dark souls 1 still does retain a certain feel to it with its atmosphere and graphics that makes it stand out. Dark souls 3 also but it's not as old as ds1 so it doesn't stand out as much. I would like it if fromsoft or bluepoint remastered ds1 in UE5. Or ds3. And kos have mercy please remaster bloodborne in UE5. Or just release it on PC. I know I'm the billionth person praying for this but my God just let it happen sony.
Just started playing a week ago and fell in love with it. As a big Souls fan, you pretty much covered all bases on the game and how I feel about it, plus gave some new perspective beyond my own. I really hope this is better received that the majority of Souls-like clones that aren't always appealing to the fan base because I wanna see more from the studios and developers. Solid video essay overall. You've gained a sub.
Just wanted to say that you are the 🐐. Whenever you review something, you always do it justice and catch all the lottle details most game critics just simply don't care about. It is easy to tell that you play these games with an open mind and a lot of passion and that is what makes you the Goat. Ty for uploading.
I don't even play a lot of souls-likes, but I keeping coming back to this channel for the level of the game criticism. It's sincere, engaged, and insightful... and on top of that, it's fun. Great stuff dude.
More like Lies of Poop. Because it's shit. It's combat is shit. The movement is shit. The world and atmosphere do not make up for the core gameplay feeling like absolute rancid ass. And "oh but it works a lot better after you upgraded your dodge and blocking and stamina and stuff from the skill tree" IS NOT A GOOD EXCUSE FOR THE BASE CORE GAMEPLAY FEELING TERRIBLE. Skill tree upgrades should NOT fix a broken system, they should improve on an already functional one.
I mean a lots of the animations directly comes from FS games. Like who didn't think of Paarl while fighting Scrapped Watchman ? It's literally the same design and animations just it's not a monster.
Some of the attack patterns of the bosses are so cool and it feels so good when you get better with reading and parrying them. For example, Laxasia has such a cool attack combo in phase 1 that is so satisfying when you learn to parry it. Also you know if you can break a boss' weapon, if their weapon flashes when you get a perfect guard. You can end phase 1 of laxasia super early by "breaking" her weapon. Legendary game!
I truly can't believe this game is as good as it is. Coming from a developer with no experience in the genre and minimal history as a studio this is truly a remarkable accomplishment.
NEOWIZ has been on the scene for a long time and is responsible for the greatest music rhythm game series that been going strong for over a decade spanning handheld and home consoles with other great games under it belt like Skull, they have an extensive history, just primarily popular in east asia
Neowiz is mostly the publisher for this. The studio that seems to be responsible for most of the development work is Studio 8, and the only thing they did before Lies of P was the Bless Online reboot (Unleashed). @@sweetgold
Ngl I got it just cuz I’d had an eye on it for a while, and I went with the rapier starting weapon As soon as I began testing it Oh my god It’s hard to describe in full words just how satisfying I find the rapier to wield That alone told me quite a lot It really feels like another from soft game, that combines the good parts of a lot of games and throws on one or two new mechanics, and a new setting. Not going to lie, this is what I desire out of every non-fromsoft souls like. This is what I want. I know it’s a high standard. And I’m not saying I expect every game to meet it. But this is what I want out of them. I need to put more playtime in, but I’m having a lot of fun. The one complaint I have besides the tight timing needed (I can pull it off, it’s just a lot more focus needed, it’s like baseline killing Malenia level focus but the whole game) is that There’s no real way to know how long the combo will be. The attacks come out fast, and combos are chained fast. If you have to dodge/block/parry like another attack is coming (I dodge), and they don’t swing again, then you lose valuable time that coulda been used to deal damage. But if you don’t dodge and swing instead then you have next to zero time to prevent the hit. I know that not every boss has to be telegraphed, it can add an interesting challenge to mix up combos, but so far every boss/mini boss has had that, and it’s gotten a bit old. Just a little bit more time, or some signal of how many swings they’re about to take, something. Otherwise, I think it’s been very well done
I think this sort of proves that games need a strong direction, and really hammer that home. To often times games try to be everything and fail (Halo 2, Cyberpunk 2077 etc.), or are far to safe. That direction tends to come from a single human being, and these tend to be the directors that make good games over and over again. I think that, and holding back your ego to let the game be, is super important for making a strong game, and is evident by the amount of good games by nooby studios, or good studios making shitty games.
I am so relieved to hear about the linearity of the game. I am very tired of open worlds being open worlds jut for the sake of being open worlds. I've recently played a few focused, linear games and realized I had missed them so very much. Linearity gives you the pleasure of having moments filled with meaning at all times, versus just meandering about until you find something enjoyable.
Yeah, there's been too much of an obsession with open world games for a while now IMO. It feels like people want to be able to invest countless hours into games for the sake of it, "to get their money's worth", I don't know. But I'd much rather buy a game that's a superbly crafted 10 hour experience versus one that's an alright 100 hour experience. I don't want an open world that's just there to pad playtime.
It is a bit too linear however, there is exactly one side area you can go to that you can potentially skip storywise. Everything else is mandatory and most small side areas are for shortcuts. Having said that the areas are still well designed and cohesive. But exploration wise its not too stimulating like DaS 1 for example
@@the_rabidsquirelreminds me of my experience with Dark Souls 3. Very thoughtfully crafted, mostly linear game with surprises for those who found them but otherwise a great game throughout
The linearity makes things simple, but it also means you can't avoid or gear up for a boss you struggle with, and there isn't as much variety in your options in the earlier game
Iron Pineapple is quietly becoming one of the most measured and thoughtful game reviewers out there. God help the other journos when he branches out from souls likes
I think it’s important sometimes for a journalist to have a specialty, so that you can understand the lens through which they view a game. Iron Pineapple has become such a great reviewer of these souls-likes from playing so many, probably more than anyone else as claimed. Branching out would negate that expertise. If IP were to branch out and review a racing game, what basis would I have for his review? This issue really presents itself with big gaming reviewers, who hire out various journalists to review as many games as they can. If someone named “Charles Rook” from Konami reviewed Lies of P, and gave it the exact same score IP had, we would not be able to trust it as well because we do not know the experience that “Charles Rook” has. Anyways, just a thought.
Having just beaten it yesterday, I've gotta say this is a brilliant assessment of the game. Pineapple's insights are really on point. ONE TIP THAT REALLY HELPS - when an enemy has their stagger meter going, you can throw a shot put at them to bring up the crit opportunity. Keep them handy. 😅
This game in my opinion is one of the few masterpiece level games that have come out in recent years. This game had me so in love and invested and I’m almost addicted to just every part of this game. And the difficulty it could be very unforgiving at times especially in the later parts of the playthrough but once you learn these things it makes it so much more satisfying to complete these areas or battles
“You don’t have to parry everything” so true the second phase of the Puppet king when he uses his flame blade I literally just ran. Just Running away works rather well on most big attacks as well.
A little late to the party, but you can nullify Romeo's fire attack if you land a full fable art after he's done buffing his scythe, you'll stagger him and it will remove the fire buff.
you dont have to, but parrying is what makes lop fun. I can beat any boss in under a minute with known cheese strats, but i'd rather just parry them to death, simply cause its so enjoyable.
I loved that I dodged mostly and every once in a while got a couple good parry's. But I don't think I would have beat nameless without some perfect parry's
I would like to mention that with the level design, the boss fights are fore shadowed extremely well, like the posters for the parade puppet or the shock meter before the guard puppet
God, speaking of the guardsman puppet, that little slip of paper before the boss telling you why it's gone haywire and the fact it's still a friend to kids (maybe?) and then running into that kid in the petrification disease quarantine zone was just depressing
@@Alex-fb5ec Nono, not a dead kid, he's down an alleyway where the dogs jump through the windows at ya, he'll say something about his friend and that he can't play anymore due to being sick, when you beat the guard puppet, it'll give you a whistle, which will show up in the teleport menu inside the stargazer for the area that the kid is in, just look around there a little and you'll be able to find him and play the whistle outside his window to get some free ergo
My only complaint is the lack of a poise mechanic. As a strength build some of these bosses felt near impossible. Every attack I do gets instantly canceled if even a flake of dust grazes Pinocchio’s skin
Hopefully, the strategy doesn't become "just hit-trade because you'll only get in around 1 hit anyway" like Elden Ring reinforced. To clarify, I'm not saying the solution is "give the player poise/armour" or "deal enough damage so that I don't have to interact with the boss osten", but I've found this to be a problem with slower weapons in recent Soulslikes. I think DS3 found a good rythm with the enemy's offense that gives STR weapons room to shine.
There is a fable art called Killer Strike, on the living-puppet axe. It is one of the very few Fable Arts that has hyper armor. Plus is deals bonus damage if the enemy swings at you while you do it
😂 LOL!!!! This is EXACTLY what i dislike about most souls games allowing u build around a strength tank play style! The poise, balance, posture, etc is 90% of the time useless. It's like why even bother adding it in the game to begin with?!
So I wrote a review on Lies of P (I am working as a video games journalist for a German website) and you basically shared the same praise and criticism for the game as I did, which felt unbelievably validating. I was also shocked on how many people treated this as just another souls like and threw it onto the pile next to fun, but not even remotely close games like Thymesia, Steelrising or the mentioned Mortal Shell. While I struggled a lot on my playthrough (Laxasia took me almost three hours) I really enjoyed my time and gushed about the combat system. The game is difficult and demanding, but it sure as hell is rewarding too, once you truly master these bosses. Great video!
Something I found out since I bought the Pre-Order Version of the game. May not mean much to anyone but details like this to me are so awesome and appreciated. When you walk into your fight with the Parade Master, he screams robot nonsense at you. If you have the Pre-Order Version. You have a Parade Master mask you can equip. If you are wearing that mask when you walk into the fight instead of screaming robo shit at you he is laughing. I thought that was really cool.
I think, for those without the pre-order version, Venigni gives you the Ergo Wavelength Decoder, which allows you to hear the scrambled puppet speech from bosses. I think it only works in new game though, but still pretty cool!
Just a quick note: the get up from being knocked down and chaining dodges have been updated. They are parts of your core abilities, unlocked from the start of the game.
This tip might be a bit late, but I played through the game with a strength build and had the exact same charge-up stagger problem. I learned later that the shot putt item (that you can buy from the merchant in the Red Lobster Inn) can actually be used to trigger that stagger window! Super useful for bosses ther either push you away during their stagger window or for weapons that swing really slow!
Didnt use that weapon but i noticed with some you could do a normal attack and the charged heavy attack would be differenf sometimes faster than the standard but youd still have to get a decent window as soon as i got the Two dragon katana i didnt switch since it had a parry R2 which was so satisfying to land
You can also put a fast light weapon in your second slot and just switch to that for staggers. I did it for a bit but eventually got comfortable enough finding openings with my main.
So I have been playing this game for a while now and I came across this fantastic video again after seeing it when the game first came out and I wanted to comment again now that it has been a while and I have been progressing through the game slowly but enjoyably. Here is what I wanted to share: 1. Either the devs really respect your opinion a great deal (like I do) or they just know what feedback to listen to and what not to in improving their game because the patch so far has make the companion more robust, slightly increased the parry window and decreased the HP of a few first phase bosses so you can get to phase two faster and a few other tweaks EXACTLY as you recommended. So, well done! 2. Because I did not have much experience with other souls likes due to my poor playing, I feel like this game may have clicked with me more than some who are more in tune with the genre as a whole. For me, much of the strategy for these fights came fairly naturally. Big bosses with big slow hits... block regular attacks and get the heck away when they turn red (mostly). Fast multi-attack enemies, side step or dodge and try to get behind them. I also was able to lean to parry a great number of the mobs and bosses because I had no preconceived notion of timing. It just was what it was. I suspect this is more difficult to adjust to when you have played hundreds of hours of games where the timing is usually more crisp and rapid. 3. This game is surprisingly SUPER friendly to the more inexperienced players despite its difficulty. I am in chapter 8 right now despite the fact that I suck because the game lets me be creative in facing harder enemies if I am struggling and it does seem to have a build that is "easier" IMO. I am using an Advance build (magic). Weapons are easy to get and very effective if you use the right status affect against the right enemy. This also makes your inexpensive elemental throwables INSANELY effective. Also, the buddy being buffed now really helps in the few fights I found a bit overwhelming like first fight with the gang. 4. The game rewards approach diversity. This goes hand in hand with the last point. For example, at the time you made this video I don't think you knew it yet, but a shot put throwable will stagger an enemy when they become vulnerable. So, for a slow weapon STR build that has a tough time getting a charge attack in, you just step back and throw a shot put. Done. Another great example is that damn fat clown. Yes you can beat him if you learn his moves. Yes it can be done with any weapon if you have the skill. For me, the fat clown was a deal breaker. Her WRECKED me and was a sub boss so no helper. In the end. I just chose a different way to handle him: chuck all 15 of my elemental throwables at him and then use the shield Legion arm (Ageis) to keep blocking him and hitting him simultaneously until he was dead. Done. In the end, the setting, music, visuals and fight polish makes this game a pure pleasure to me and has emboldened me to really try harder on other souls like games. I am even playing Lords of the Fallen right now too and, despite traversal mechanics launching me off heights and way too many adds that can hammer you at range, I am doing better than I expected there as well. So, I cannot express vehemently enough how much I agree with your sentiments on this game. It has literally opened up a whole new avenue of enjoyment for me.
This game is like stumbling into an old friend you haven't seen for years. You remember their face and the great times you had together but they have matured and grown and have all sorts of new stories to share.
@@ashes_blue because you know years ago, things were much simpler and easier to just take at face value. Your nostalgia for how things used to be is conflicting your current day desires, and whether or not you can reconcile the two... only you'll know the answer to that.
@@Count_Virgil Goddamn... That's some straight up sage knowledge. For real, I pictured Gandalf saying that and it didn't seem out of place in the slightest lol
Also for anyone who doesn't know, when you build the stagger meter on large enemies and bosses (glowing white bar) you dont necessarily have to land a heavy attack. Some fable arts work too. Or the simple thing is throw a shot put at the enemy. Instant stagger.
@@EllaKarhuYup, after unlocking shot put in my NG run I respec'd my p-organ and immediately removed all stagger window duration nodes. There's just no need for them after getting that item.
I think a pro-tip for anyone who is starting this game would be : NEVER leave the hotel, or go on exploring, with ergo. Even a sawtooth wheel can be a useful item in a boss fight or to detonate barrels, or to drop enemies off ledges, or to draw individual aggro from a distance. It became part of my gameplay loop to quickly teleport to Malum before going out on missions, to top up on shotputs and other throwables. While I didnt really spec or focus too much on using them in fights, having them available (especially the shotputs to stagger) and remembering to use them, felt so damn good.
Shotput is the real hero. I'm using more consumables on ng+, and they're still really strong. Even if you're not hitting the posture break, the extra stagger damage can be a game changer. No more fire scythes for Romeo.
@@machinemanbiggWas the complete opposite for me. Finished the demo and never wanted to touch the game again. Elden Ring's open world was enough for me to push through the mucky bosses.
This was a very very good review, and you definitely did the same justice. Solid opinions, wonderful script, several moments made me giddy when you mentioned specific mechanics or moments, or put my fist in the air in celebration.
I completed the true ending doing almost everything possible in the first playthrough( only lost Adelina and Belle quests) and exploring each corner. Finished the game in about 30 hours, I used a op build (saw blade, fast handle) so the bosses weren’t that tough. So yeah i would say the game is about 35 40 hours long.
Lies of p is my introduction to souls like games and it is crazy difficult. But it also made me fall in love with a genre I, for years, didn’t give a second thought. And I feel like I’ll be at least a little bit more prepared for all the other from soft titles with it being so hard but that being said I’ve been stuck on the final boss for 2 days now and I’m debating giving up (it’s the final optional boss you can get depending on your ending)
It's one of the very rare games that has a sequel tease scene at the end that made me genuinely feel "I cant wait" There are very few things that can muster such sincere desire for a sequel from me - imagine all the great ideas, refined, expanded...
@@Trollensky "Very few things that can muster such sincere desire..." I guess cringe with a pinch of edge would be more accurate to whatever the hell that was.
I think some of it has to do with IronPineapple's narrative style. Really good at sounding natural while still coming off as well-scripted and not too conversational. The editing is also fast-paced without being twitchy and overwhelming. Among the TH-cam GOATs IMO, especially in the gaming space.
Brother, I think you make the best game review videos on TH-cam. I love watching your stuff, even if I don't intend to play whatever you're reviewing. Great great stuff my dude. Never stop.
You legit make the best game reviews out there imo. The amount of care you put into every facet of a game is staggering, and being able to approach it from an empathetic perspective for everyone involved (the devs and players), is super cool. 🤘can’t wait to start my playthrough!
16:49 As someone who has been using the Specter shamelessly, they can easily survive entire bosses after getting Wishstone access, since there is a Wishstone that will heal your Specter by 50%. This can be compounded with the P-Organ traits of Faster Wishtone Use (makes it as quick as a Pulse Cell) and Increased Wishstone Uses of which so far I personally have 2 uses, so essentially 200% HP Specter.
Specters are like Ash summons in Elden Ring. They’re a part of the game, by all means use and interact with the games mechanics, it’s why they’re there. Folks should never be ashamed for engaging with the games mechanics.
Yeah they are part of the reason why I went full attack glass canon because I can fully charge an R2 back to back that they survive almost any boss in the game. Recently I have tried to perfect parry and use a faster weapon and I have to say it's super fun to study the attack patterns of a boss and read him like a book.
I personally find that it feels like cheating. The bosses aren't designed to fight two players, and as such they end up chasing a spectre and eating damage. If the spectres were weaker, or the boss prioritised attacking the player I think using spectres would be more of a choice
I love your review, Pineapple. You are very critical, concise and hits the point, not many other reviewers can do that. Your points are valid, and you try to see the whole perspective rather than from a one sided view. Keep on being you. That said, review more games! I have watched every video on your channel, and love to see more!
@@KoreanSpy1997 It's literally just a couple of yes or no questions that changes the ending. That doesn't change anything gameplay related so it really doesn't matter as the other guy said.
After 15 hours in, I’m wondering who these devs are. This amount of polish is incredible, and is becoming my favorite souls-like. For these guys to come out of nowhere for me makes me interested in what they do next
Yea I hope the game sells well so we can get DLC or a sequel. These guys get it. They know what fromsoftware fans want and they gave it to us while we wait for elden ring DLC
@@loowisk1113 yeah this game is sick. Every new area I find is just wow when you first see it. The animations are great, weapons are really fun to experiment with and the story is pretty cool.
This Game definitely deserves all the praise it can get, It's absolutely phenomenal! Also I did just want to say, That as someone who loves Sekiro the most out of all Souls-Like Games, Nah dude... Sekiro is WAY harder then this Game lol. The Greed-Eyed Swamp Monster Boss was the ONLY Boss in Lies of P that I died to more then 10 times, Everything else, Even the final boss only killed me about 6-8 times max, This Game is quite easy when compared to Sekiro "Where I died dozens of times on even mini-bosses let alone the 30-40+ times on the Bosses themselves lmao. But yeah a very fair review all things considered, Great video dude!
Frankly, the parry window being a tiny bit too small and the linearity of the game are the only weaknesses for me, personally. Everything else is straight-up perfect, and I've never seen game developers, apart for fromsoft, showing so much respect for the player. I mean, the level design is up there, and the enemy variety is insane. They literally made new enemies in every level you traverse. The amount of work and passion put into this game is tremendous. Massive respect for the dev.
The linearity is a real thing. The thing I thought was lacking is the presence of atleast one secret area accesible by dark turns or strange shit. But (unpopular opinion I guess) I kinda like when games are a little more linear too, I just have to focus on making my way through enemies and I find it kind of soothing. I really like level designs of games like dark souls (mainly the first one), etc, where you get lost in totally different zones from where you were aiming, and find items and enemies... But it tends to get exhausting sometimes.
Yeah, the parry window and the linearity are my biggest complaints as well. My third biggest complaint is just how many enemy movesets are near identical to enemies from actual FromSoft games. This didn't hurt the experience for me anywhere near as much as the parry window did, but it definitely broke my immersion more than a few times. It got much less common in the later half of the game though, which was nice.
@@LucianA-e5e A design choice can end up being a flaw...It's not incompatible. Also, I can play Lies of P and Elden ring...It's not incompatible, either.
i get where you're coming from, but as a first time soulslike game player, the linearity helps me. I know im going on the right track instead of lost and getting frustrated because i keep dying. I do die constantly, but at least i know im making a progress.
I think one thing about Lies of P, is that some of the movement mechanics are locked behind the skill tree, so it might feel a little clunky at first. Once you get upgrades like the second dodge, it starts to feel a lot more fluid.
A lot of people also complain about too low stamina. Upgrade stamina (!!) it really makes the game very fluid. Elden Ring required HP, Lies of P stamina. Later in the game there’s a great stamina amulet which makes everything super pleasant
This review is a perfect example for why it's necessary to have someone who understands the game and genre, to give people an accurate depiction beyond a subjective gut feeling.
Most reviews are directed at general audiences, rather than the genre audience that's already likely to get it. Maybe that should change, but that's why reviewers often do games that aren't really up their alley.
As I’ve long said, the problem with journalists is they went to school for journalism. You don’t have Economist, Physicists, “Gamers” writing the articles about these subjects. You have some journalists that probably understands it worse than their typical reader.
@@chammy2812 Most Gaming Journalist are not real journalist, they never learned it by school. Also games are extreme subjective topic, a good journalist is not somebody who make a good job but make a job close to your subjective view.
Lies of P was a massive surprise to me who was cynical about its relatively silly elevator pitch. It has some of the most satisfying combat and certainly some of the best bosses the soulslike genre has to offer, and it most certainly has the best cutscene direction, miles ahead of what fromsoft has put out. Seriously. This game's cinematics are pure art.
The bosses are just plain awesome. Difficult, intense, yet fair. And a lot of them are legit terrifying in their visual design. This game is really something special; it scratches the same itch as FromSoft games while having enough unique features and mechanics to be its own entity rather than a ripoff.
I'll tell you the true: I was thinking about buying LoP, but after this video I prolly wont. The game is a beuty, the fight system seem exceptional, the level of work put into this game is simply astounding. But from what Iron say I prolly would buy and let it sit aside. For the simple reason that I play barely an hour aday, so I wont be have the time to experiment, the time to "git good", the time to have fun. It's basically a game that require a level of commitment I dont have the time to invest into. A pity, but unless I find a less stressful and intensive work it would just be a waste of money. Sigh.
When we conducted a closed test in Korea, the level of difficulty was more difficult than it is now. (The is that the boss has become about 3 times weaker.) The balance has been achieved to the current level. If it had come out as tested, it would have been incredibly difficult. The closed test attack pattern and speed was also more vicious. This applies not only to bosses but also to regular enemies. (Of course, it's still difficult, but. Therefore, the boss becomes easier if you fight while using items. I think the production company designed a way to make it easy to fight. The item is stronger than you think.)
By best bosses you mean those winding up every attack for like 3 seconds and executing them in a split frame? Memorizing is just more fun than reacting for some people I guess. I'd recommend Final Fantasy XIV since there are even more memorizings in that game for you.
I was a bit on the fence about whether I should buy the game or not, but this video has made me feel very confident that I will enjoy it. I would also like to point out that once again, you are really proving just how good you are at making these reviews. Your videos are always so thorough, constantly showing footage to accompany your points while being extremely fair and positive, with seamless transitions between different sections. Not only do I agree with pretty much everything you've said about the game and game design as a whole (for instance, I also think level design plays a crucial role into making these games fun to play), but I also think that this was a delight to watch. Once again, thanks a lot for uploading another fantastic video, stay safe!
So glad this review exists. I finally played this recently and was horrified at the way the internet treated this game. There are very few opinions on this game in between either that it is too hard, unfair and needs to be completely reworked or that the game is good but isn't more than a Bloodborne/Sekiro clone. This game is not only mechanically and visually separated from FromSoftware, but it also matches them in so many ways, it is beacon of hope for there to be more variety and competition in this beautiful genre and I'm glad someone with this much authority agrees with me.
Also, can we take a moment to talk about how the boss soundtracks are freaking phenomenal? Every boss sounds like you're fighting at the end of the world or in hell itself
That “and unlike Pinocchio, I’m not lying” with the epic music montage literally sent shivers down my spine. Fantastic video that has officially convinced me to buy this game
Thank you for giving Lies of P the recognition it deserves. It has become one of my favorite Souls-likes, possibly even favorite games, ever. I love its combat, level design, story, voice performances, lore, builds, art, music, level of polish and attention to detail.
"It feels familiar." Yes, in the best way. It is like finding a NEW favorite sweater. This game is so underrated. As a fan of Nier Automata, Bioshock, AND Dark Souls, I can't believe people can't see the broader blend of things this game obviously is.
fun fact, the music in 25:00 is a remix of a song from a music rhythm game DJMAX by the same developer. as a rhythm game aficionado, DJMAX is easily one of if not the best music game series with some of the most varied and excellent songs. Lies of P definitely has a "nepotism" advantage by being able to just draw directly from the OST of one of the most legendary music rhythm game series that been producing songs for over a decade lol. The original "Feel" is a faster more upbeat pop song with clear y2k vibes and it's one of my fav songs to play - th-cam.com/video/vp8mJYJYOIs/w-d-xo.html . if ur curious also youtube search DJMAX Miles, DJMAX Everyday, and DJMAX Dream of you, DJMax Rock a doodle doo
@@justagamer1160 "okay nerd" Dude you are justagamer1160 on a video about Pinocchio the video game. Your name might as well be "nerdboythemagnificent".
Dont know if anyone mentioned yet but most songs you can play in hotel are actually remastered versions of songs from their rhythm game djmax. Its very cool how they adapted all those different genre of songs into something like this
In a somewhat silly way, Lies of P is itself a Souls protagonist. It's a game made by a small studio with a silly premise going up against an impossible beast, a terrifying, undefeated leviathan: FromSoft's recent works. By all means, it is nothing, it should be dead, it should give up, it should just _die..._ and yet it fights. It fights and it fights and it fights and it tears victory from the beating heart of a cruel world to stand alongside the giants it follows in the footsteps of.
The thing about the perfect guard mechanic is that as opposed to sekiro you can’t tap the block button if you want the full parry window, you have to hold it for a bit more than just a tap or else your character will drop the guard near instantly. It has its pros and cons, it allows you to act much sooner after releasing it since it’s non-commital but this means you’re going to have to create this muscle memory of holding instead of tapping. Once I understood this the parry window felt fair and it became a very reliable tool for speeding up the fights.
yeah everyone that played sekiro before has already developed a spesific muscle memory for sekiro parry gonna have a hard time get used to lies of p parry but once you get used to it actually becomes reliable.
You're welcome, I think is that the developers failed to fully understand the way the mechanic works in Sekiro thinking that they did it right, i've noticed that these developers really studied the design in fromsoft games to make Lies of P up to standards that most souls fans seek and the obvious example is enemy placement, enemy quantity per space and matching enemy moveset with the environment to present a specific challenge to the player. They tried their best in incorporating the mechanic from sekiro while adding their own flavor but missed the mark by a little and i dont blame them, there's a lot of details in fromsoft's design that makes the overall experience as good as it is and its hard for a developer to exactly understand why it work which is why Souls like devs have been having troubles creating really good games in this genre, althought with the release of LoP, Remnant 2 and possibly Lords of the Fallen, things might change in the future.@@DesignFrameCaseStudies
@@heyblasty8614why is the sekiro version of parrying 'right' and lies of p 'wrong'? If you're using a template but want your own spin, why is one version better than another, or at least right or wrong? Is it simply because sekiros parry system is what sekiro players are used to?
One thing I’ve seen a lot of people overlook is how absolutely crazy the enemy variety is in this game. I was shocked when, on the victory lap area IMMEDIATELY before the final boss, I still encountered an enemy I’d never seen before. Most areas manage to introduce at least 1-2 new enemies even between each checkpoint, and a lot of enemies only appear once so things always remain fresh. Plus even if/when some of those enemies are reskins, they always feel unique to fight. Genuinely shocked that the devs managed to cram in more enemies than even some fromsoft games and use them so well
I really never write yt comments but here I just really wanna say that your review is marvelous! Lies of Pi is such a masterpiece. I really really cant say how much I enjoyed playing this game!
I bet you if TH-cam told you it wasn’t good , you’d be echoing that. I don’t believe you actually enjoyed it. The game is a dumpster fire. People are brainwashed it’s fucking pathetic
Thank you so much for this extremely considerate review that I've only seen now after finishing the game a while ago! I love how much you respect games as an art, and how you flesh out in detail why Lies of P qualifies to be regarded as its own piece of art, even though it is obviously standing on the shoulders of giants. The only thing I missed in this game was the jumping / verticality of Sekiro, but other than that, it was so well executed that I cannot wait to see what this team is up to next. And the hint at the end of the game in terms of the setting for the next one makes me all the more eager for it.
So i don’t think anyone will carry about this, but this was actually the first souls like game that i managed to play, just got to the final chapter and I’m having a blast with it. Loved the story and mechanics of it, i get the people that say it’s a hard game, but for me that had tried a few other souls like and didn’t manage to progress it at all, it fitted perfectly for me. So i do recommend it for if you might be in doubt, it’s 100% worth it. Great video and great content man, keep up with it.
Did you ever play Bloodborne? I ask as someone who is terrified of difficult games and always plays normal mode on most games. But Bloodborne was the first souls game I beat. Would you still recommend Lies of P? I wanna play it but I'm really skeptical. Also I've ruined some of the story just by looking it up so much 😅
@@michaelbush1374 imo, Lies of P difficulty is equal to difficulty of Dark Souls 3 DLC (I played), or like Bloodborne DLC (which i haven't played). I'm currently in the middle of playthrough, and after that point bosses are hard as souls DLC's. Aside from bosses - rest of the game isn't that hard
@SanOK1Play I actually ended up buying and beating it. The levels were kinda easy, but I struggled with the bosses. The bosses are more difficult than Bloodborne dlc bosses for some. Perhaps besides Orphan of Kos or the two shark giants guarding Rakuyo. At a certain point I got my ass handed to me by Laxasia too many times and thought okay it's farming time. I fought her at level 97 at first, then farmed until I was level 256. Needless to say I got first try my next round with Laxasia, first try on Simon Manus and the Nameless Puppet. Went a little overboard I guess 😅
@@michaelbush1374 Jesus christ I stopped my run after beating ng+3 and I was like lvl 335 after beating the last boss, you're a Madman lmao My only advice that could help you after all this time is to use the whetstone to buff your weapon that lets you block everything during her 2nd phase. It makes the whole fight extremely easy as you don't have to panic so much.
Honestly the passion you had on display talking about and reviewing lies of p saying "im not satisfied with saying its good nah its from soft level" im like god damn I bought the game on the spot man thanks for the great review. I am glad I vote with my wallet and am also excited to see what this studio does next
17:24 There is an item called "Shot Put" that you can use on staggerable enemies to immediately stagger them if you're using weapons too heavy and slow to do it with charged attacks, I learned it so far into the game (it didn't bother me so much since I was using fast Dex weapons), but its good to keep in mind especially considering you can buy infinite amounts of it from a merchant in Malum District. I think giving parry few more frames and making fable arts give your character hyperarmor OR not costing fable charges if they are interrupted would be a good change to begin with, especially considering enemies have poise but your character don't.
I've been playing it and am neatly finished and it's sooo good, honestly one of my favourites from the 'souls like' genre, the art design is impeccable, the combat is smooth the weapon variety and movesets are really good and buttery smooth, honestly been loving it
After clearing NG++ and 100% the whole game, i wholehearted agree with everything you says This game gets more addicting and fun as you progress further into the game and get the flow of the game NG+ is super fun and challenging too.
16:48 That's where the Wishstones come in. Plenty of different options to help your ghostly pal, although they are a bit limited. I didn't really use the Specter for the majority of my playthrough (just King of Puppets, seriously that guy was annoying), but it's nice they kept him in mind for people that like to have a friend. The ability to buff him with different status effects probably works wonders too.
The fact that the wish stone mechanic was omitted is because it's very bad. They take forever to use, don't last very long at all (borderline feels like their buffs last about as long as the thing takes to activate) and have a straight up *stupid* 20 minute cooldown between refreshing with new stones. It's a totally forgettable mechanic.
@@YangBalanceYin uhm, what? Do you not know what they do or did you just use them once in one boss fight? The wishstone can completely change the outcome of a boss fight. I made the puppet king a non factor by giving the spectre blitz and watching him get staggered every 3 hits. If you don't understand how to properly use a mechanic doesn't mean the mechanic is bad, that sounds like a you issue.
Ohhh iron pineapple. Always has that sound of truth, honesty,humble, kind, calm, and intelligent, a voice i can trust. Fantastic review made from your heart
Something much more impressive about this is that this is the company's first attempt at a souls like. And I personally think it's a fucking masterpiece. Sure there's balancing issues but at the same time it's genuinely so amazing what they created.
I do think the parry window is slightly too tight considering how drawn out some attacks could be, a slight increase to the window would go a long way in making it feel a little nicer. Still one of my favourite if not my favourite souls-like that's not from FromSoft
@@TimothyGod yeah in the demo I managed to nail the parry for the scrapped boss guy, but now can't get the hang of it. Hope the 30 fps trick for better parries etc didn't persist to the full game (might be talking out of my ass but felt easier at 30fps during the demo)
I agree, and I played Sekiro for over 100 hours. Talk about tight combat. A slight tweak would make all the difference in this game. Besides that I'm loving it.
@@JJsiN84 i did the second boss pretty well, it has some good tells to parry. That poison walking dude was rough, had to find a spot he couldn't reach and hit him
Absolutely incredible review. Honesty goes such a long way and its so clear how passionate you are about the genre. Loved all your previous videos and this one is another on top of that glorious pile :D
Great review, I love this game so much and it’s honestly my third favorite souls like only behind sekiro and Elden ring. I also actually really appreciated the linearity and really enjoyed being able to just go from boss to boss without feeling like I’m missing out on lots of content by not exploring more.
Same, I LOVED the linearity after Elden Ring. Sekiro was linearish with some branching paths, but level design was linear. I love having a crafted path so the boss progression makes sense. Elden Ring fell apart a little when you could do some late game things early and make early game bosses trivial.
linear games are almost better at this point. I like it when i know that i am on the right path and not in the wrong area at the wrong time. idk i loved elden ring but in general open world games more and more the older i get is less of a bonus for me.
i was on the fence about getting this game after seeing one of my friends play it for a few minutes in a discord call but honestly pineapple just seeing how genuinely expressive you are about how much you enjoy this game has done it for me definitely going to give it a completion and see what you mean :) thanks for another amazing video you really are one of the best if not the best doing it and you deserve as much praise as you give this game!
“Game is boring. Game is uninspired. Yadda yadda” Please tell me you kids have never played a Souls game. Because _that_ would explain your dumb comments. But if _have_ played Soulsborne games and your complaining like a whiny b*tch, just tells me you scrubs never “got gud” and just relied on cheesing bosses to beat the games. Sorry there’s BKH in this game. 😂 now learn those boss patterns
I'm already loving this game and I just started last night. Its my sincere hope that (much like Fromsoft) the devs of this game are able to make more games, iterating on what they have learned. Who knows, maybe one day they will stand toe-to-toe with From. Im curious to see how their games evolve and wish the devs nothing but the best. Great video as always Iron. Also missed opportunity to title your video "The Lies of Pine" lmao
21:11 maybe a hot take but I personally admire these "bounce off" moments for souls likes. Its this part of the genre that keeps there communities healthy imo.
I "bounced off" Dark souls 1 about 9 times. All in all it took me two years for the game to click. When it clicked, sweet tapdancing Jesus, it clicked. I'm glad that was my introduction, because I'm much more willing to give Soulslike games some time to click. Unless there's nonsense going on via constant cheap enemy placement or obvious hitbox fuckery. That makes a game hard in the same way jumpscares make a game scary.
I just beat the game. I loved the art design, combat (even if it felt "unfair" at times), but most of all its unique setting and story. I was skeptical that a story inspired by Pinnochio could draw me in and yet it did - I read all the dialogue, all the little secrets and books in the game just to learn more about its world. I can say I had a great time and look forward to DLC or a sequel.
I agree with it being slightly unfair at times. I've seen my weapon go right through bosses and completely miss. Plus the lock on is not the most accurate
@@MechFung there is a P Organ upgrade that lets you dodge to quickly get back up after getting knocked down. There can be a few moments where enemies will kick you while you're down so it does help in that regard
Disclaimer: I haven't played the game yet. I have, however, read quite a lot of reviews and been curious to hear your take. You are always well spoken in your reviews - even the short ones in the beloved *EVEN MORE* soulslike series - but especially here I can tell you were careful and deliberate in your review, editing your thoughts while playing with an open mind and ready to give criticism when due but also praise. TLDR: You sold me on the game. Well said and well played, Pineapple. I'm the masochist among my gaming friends so what better journey than a difficult but worthwhile one such as this.
there was a point a little over halfway through the game (won't specify bc of spoilers) that I realized that this was the first souls/soulslike game I've played that has made me genuinely care about and feel for the character that I play as, and I think moving forward I'm gonna start to miss that in future games of the genre that I play. Feels like I'm really gonna start noticing the absence of that. The writing and worldbuilding in this game is seriously fantastic.
this game’s character work is so good, i’ve really come to love the characters on their own, and they also do a brilliant job of grounding them in the original tale of pinocchio. one detail i absolutely adored is that with the robot bosses with the corrupted speech, if you squint, you can make out what they’re saying. i figured this out during the scrapped watchman fight and quickly started to feel very guilty about fighting him lol.
I’m not sure which one you’re talking about, but I’ve started to really care about P. He’s clearly more than just a puppet, but I’m still not sure what. Hopefully I didn’t miss something. I just finished the swamp level for reference
I agree with everything you said, for real. Especially in terms of reacting to criticisms, thanks for not holding back. The game is a true accomplishment and needs to be respected. It's a really difficult game, punishingly agonizing at times - but fair. Incredibly well done, right up there with Fromsoft. I think a lot of ppl expect to win without putting in the required practice. And this one takes practice. I'm a souls player through and through, and the boss fights in Lies of P made me work harder than any Fromsoft game has. Towards the end of the game, I was getting tilted with how many relentless mini boss enemies there were, and ambushes. The final castle seemed to go on forever. The victory in this one is very sweet and makes you feel like a pro gamer. When it ended I was relieved bc of how hard it was. Haven't played it since.
I was very sceptical to this game after looking like 30 minutes of gameplay, but your review changed the way I looked to it. Thanks a lot I'll probably give it a try !
Great video. I’ve been playing it all week on Game Pass, feel like I’m in the middle of the end game phase and I’ve got to say, Lies of P is Game of The Year for me. Absolutely incredible, from gameplay to level design and how they’ve woven The Adventures of Pinocchio into this magical retelling. I’m in awe. Well done NeoWiz and Round 8 👏
God, this is so cool. I remember iron pineapple playing the demo a while ago in one of his steam dumpster diving videos. To watch Lies of P blow up with success like this is incredible.
I’ll be honest it’s. A major struggle with how difficult it is. But it is so well done. Like you said, voice acting music world design everything. Beautiful and punishing
Just by watching your videos and listening to your analysis, the way I enjoy games has completely changed. I pick up on more details, I've become more critic, making me appreciate more and more the videogame industry. Great work, and i'm always waiting for your next video! (prob my first comment ever in TH-cam)
This video is making my wood grow longer
Jack?
So that's a lie then? 🤔
I always respected gardeners and gardening
its a great hobby
Yo it's the real one
Unbelievable little Jacky Jacky
Imagine my disappointment when I realised this video wasn't dedicated to the masterpiece "Lies of Penguin"
😂😂
real
Agreed
agree... Lies of Pineapple
Lies of pen...
Sorry, I got cut off pennies
We are now one step closer to a Jack and the Beanstalk Souls-Like
I mean, wouldn't that end up more like Shadow of the Colossus?
Damn I hope they do that next! Apparently they hinted at Wizard of Oz as their next project in the series
Dolan?
@@ChickenIandlEggsthey should make a "dark fairy tale soulslike" universe or something
@@ChickenIandlEggs Wizard of Oz ds game already exist
I like how they actually listened and made the roll of the ground P-organ ability a normal mechanic
No they didn't.
I still had to unlock that ability.
@@cypher4528either your lieing or using an old build and haven’t updated cause that’s a feature in the latest build without p-organ
@@azairecummings7049He is lying in order to be more "human" 😏
@@cypher4528 everyone had to unlock it before the patch came out, after the patch it changes the ability to be retaining guard gauge, and u now have the roll off ground in your base kit, so u dont even have to lvl the p organ anymore for it.
@@Moonking7 are you talking about the additional roll after dashing once?
Something I noticed that was pretty cool is that the npc summon uses the current boss's boss weapon so you get a preview of the loot you can get when you win.
i noticed that too! it’s pretty brilliant. it helps when deciding whether i want to pick the weapon or the amulet!
That's neat, thanks for the tip
Great observation, thank you
Yo that's actually so cool
I never use summons but I'm going to now. Being able to preview the boss weapon via an NPC using it is pretty sick
The sentence: "The elevator pitch for Lies of P is Bloodborne meets Sekiro meets twinkified Pinokio" truly shows how the souls like genre has elvolved throughout the years
@@archithroughthe whole point of using genres is to avoid the comment you just made
*Pinocchio
And he also said it while going down the elevator
@@archithrough The first Soullike game was Soul River, a Western company.
@archithrough it's actually an action RPG, traditional JRPGs are at least semi-turn-based
To my suprise, Lies of P made me realize that Carlo Collodi wrote one of the first science fictions where machines wish to become men, and men wish to become Gods by becoming machines. Disney ruined it for me.
Bladerunner but from 1800
Big circle of wooden dolls chanting “Become as gods! Become as gods!”
Blade runner 1746
@calvinball8 For the Glory of mankind, Jiminy!
He isnt a science fiction author. the original story was about wooden puppets. the book isnt even labled under science fiction....
Lies of P was so good it actually got me to start fromsoft games to fill the void it left me. This game is incredible.
The same exact thing happened to me after completing Elden ring, i steam rolled all 3 dark souls games with my buddy :)
The opposite happened to me finished all Fromsoft Lies of P is more than just filling a void tis a unique experience wee las
haha yeah I went back and finally had the patience to complete Dark SOuls 1 after giving up on it in 2014 when it came out on Xbox Games with Gold :P
Same happened to me when I finished the demo, went back to finish DS1 remastered after several months of abandoning it.
Same here. I gotta say, it made me realize that while Lies of P is amazing in plenty of its aspects, Fromsoft are still in a league of their own when it come to so many. Mostly the level design, world design, and the lore and the way the story is told. Lies of P has AMAZING combat, both with enemies and boss fights, but not much more than that. If they hire a really good narrative director for their next project, it could be legendary.
You know, for a channel that started out with meme videos like Giant Door Squad, we've got to admit that Iron Pineapple has evolved into one of the most thoughtful and well spoken game reviewers out there. Bravo!
He does have a nice soft voice
The channel existed for years before that video lol
Time to go back and watch these all back to back
Best game journalist IMO - he's now doing things like interviewing Masaru Yamamura for the AC6 launch lmao
Yeah he rules. Love his serious content.
Another thing people dont talk about often, is that when you finish the game the first time, you get a puppet translator for the following runs, so you can actually know what the puppet bosses are saying to you, increasing even more the game history!
what!? how has none of the videos mentioned this I've been thinking what is the value of a replay other than playstyle. Loved the game just have lots on the to play list.
Even without the translator you can make out the dialogue, it's like glitchy outlines of letters but if you squint a little it's easy enough to read
@@Haruspex528had a friend point this out to me, only issue with that is it's kind of hard to focus on what they're saying while trying not to die lol
Also the fact that the P organ gets more upgrades in NG+ and NG++
Nier type shi
Now that I've finished the game, I can confidentially watch this video.
Unbelievable. I actually can't believe how good this game is. I'm slotting this higher than some FromSoft games, which I NEVER thought I'd say.
What's most interesting to me is that this game actually has consistently really enjoyable or good bosses. So far I'm only unsatisfied with the 2nd fight with the brotherhood, and that's mostly because I haven't beaten them yet (but I do think the gank mechanic of the fight would be better without status effect spam, or tweaking the female rabbits speed/dodging so heavy builds can do damage more consistently)
I'd say this game on avg has better bosses than a fromsoft game. Not as good as the best that fromsoft has to offer, but I'd take a whole game of enjoyable good bosses over a long game with a lot of meh bosses with some amazing bosses sprinkled in (usually in the dlc or at the end).
Like the bosses are genuinely something I wish fromsoft themselves would look at and take inspiration from.
I do hope lies of P gets a dlc. If they are to follow fromsoft in truest fashion, then they need to release a dlc/expansion that they pack with most of their best content. No other soulslike has gotten that chance yet since they have historically never been on par with fromsoft games to begin with.
Praying for a dlc. Praying even harder that lords of the fallen is as good as I'm hoping it is. That's the one I'm really looking forward to personally. 2 amazing soulslikes within 3 months of each other would be a blessing.
my guy how do you have 1 reply, lemme change that :)
@@trevorveillette8415yeah that BRB rematch is so shit. The only boss in the game I’d put in like D tier on a tier list which is really disappointing because their first fight is something I’d put in S tier.
And yeah hopefully we get a dlc for LoP. Maybe we’ll get to learn more about Gemini and explore the Workshop Tower Ruins. Lord’s of the Fallen has also piqued my interest, though I’m not really into the medieval settings rn. I had enough of that in Elden Ring
@@couchpotato5657 I really like dark and corrupted world designs. It's why bloodborne is my favorite artistically aside from the lovecraftian inspiration.
Stylistically I think lords of the fallen is more appealing than dark souls, since it leans really hard into the dark gothic style.
I will say that dark souls 1 still does retain a certain feel to it with its atmosphere and graphics that makes it stand out.
Dark souls 3 also but it's not as old as ds1 so it doesn't stand out as much.
I would like it if fromsoft or bluepoint remastered ds1 in UE5. Or ds3.
And kos have mercy please remaster bloodborne in UE5. Or just release it on PC. I know I'm the billionth person praying for this but my God just let it happen sony.
@@couchpotato5657 considering the inactive stargazer on the way to mallum district it's certain that DLC is in the plans
Just started playing a week ago and fell in love with it. As a big Souls fan, you pretty much covered all bases on the game and how I feel about it, plus gave some new perspective beyond my own.
I really hope this is better received that the majority of Souls-like clones that aren't always appealing to the fan base because I wanna see more from the studios and developers.
Solid video essay overall. You've gained a sub.
Good for you, devs confirmed both dlc and sequel(obviously wizard of oz).
Just wanted to say that you are the 🐐. Whenever you review something, you always do it justice and catch all the lottle details most game critics just simply don't care about. It is easy to tell that you play these games with an open mind and a lot of passion and that is what makes you the Goat. Ty for uploading.
What? It got similar critical reception as Nioh 2(Mid 80s). Higher than the mid 70s Mortal shell got. It's rated exactly as you expected.
Nah this comment is an understatement lol, his videos go a step past review
I don't even play a lot of souls-likes, but I keeping coming back to this channel for the level of the game criticism. It's sincere, engaged, and insightful... and on top of that, it's fun. Great stuff dude.
445
more like Lies of Peak
More like lies of pee
@@friendlyneighbor5345😐
Lies of P - a Fantastic Souls-Like (but NOT for everyone?)
More like Lies of Poop. Because it's shit. It's combat is shit. The movement is shit. The world and atmosphere do not make up for the core gameplay feeling like absolute rancid ass. And "oh but it works a lot better after you upgraded your dodge and blocking and stamina and stuff from the skill tree" IS NOT A GOOD EXCUSE FOR THE BASE CORE GAMEPLAY FEELING TERRIBLE. Skill tree upgrades should NOT fix a broken system, they should improve on an already functional one.
@@NateTheScotyou missed so hard on this
The creativity of the animations and enemy design is some of the best i've seen tbh
Coming from the developers of Bless unleashed this was a pleasant surprise because that mmo was one of the worst games ever made
oh god.. i remember Bless. or well, better said a sponsored stream. that game was.. horrible.
I mean a lots of the animations directly comes from FS games. Like who didn't think of Paarl while fighting Scrapped Watchman ? It's literally the same design and animations just it's not a monster.
It's a shame, despite how pretty they are, how fucking awful they are at communicating to the player
@@dylanlerian5960yep and that s gave me the uncanny vally effect and brougth me out of the immersion.
Some of the attack patterns of the bosses are so cool and it feels so good when you get better with reading and parrying them. For example, Laxasia has such a cool attack combo in phase 1 that is so satisfying when you learn to parry it. Also you know if you can break a boss' weapon, if their weapon flashes when you get a perfect guard. You can end phase 1 of laxasia super early by "breaking" her weapon. Legendary game!
Precisely. The first time I parried her 13-hit chain, I felt like a beast. (I still can't parry Romeo's combo though, kek)
I truly can't believe this game is as good as it is. Coming from a developer with no experience in the genre and minimal history as a studio this is truly a remarkable accomplishment.
NEOWIZ has been on the scene for a long time and is responsible for the greatest music rhythm game series that been going strong for over a decade spanning handheld and home consoles with other great games under it belt like Skull, they have an extensive history, just primarily popular in east asia
Neowiz is mostly the publisher for this. The studio that seems to be responsible for most of the development work is Studio 8, and the only thing they did before Lies of P was the Bless Online reboot (Unleashed). @@sweetgold
@@sweetgoldah so they the masters behind skull then no suprise they got the lie of P quite soundly down.
Ngl I got it just cuz I’d had an eye on it for a while, and I went with the rapier starting weapon
As soon as I began testing it
Oh my god
It’s hard to describe in full words just how satisfying I find the rapier to wield
That alone told me quite a lot
It really feels like another from soft game, that combines the good parts of a lot of games and throws on one or two new mechanics, and a new setting. Not going to lie, this is what I desire out of every non-fromsoft souls like. This is what I want. I know it’s a high standard. And I’m not saying I expect every game to meet it. But this is what I want out of them. I need to put more playtime in, but I’m having a lot of fun. The one complaint I have besides the tight timing needed (I can pull it off, it’s just a lot more focus needed, it’s like baseline killing Malenia level focus but the whole game) is that
There’s no real way to know how long the combo will be. The attacks come out fast, and combos are chained fast. If you have to dodge/block/parry like another attack is coming (I dodge), and they don’t swing again, then you lose valuable time that coulda been used to deal damage. But if you don’t dodge and swing instead then you have next to zero time to prevent the hit. I know that not every boss has to be telegraphed, it can add an interesting challenge to mix up combos, but so far every boss/mini boss has had that, and it’s gotten a bit old. Just a little bit more time, or some signal of how many swings they’re about to take, something. Otherwise, I think it’s been very well done
I think this sort of proves that games need a strong direction, and really hammer that home. To often times games try to be everything and fail (Halo 2, Cyberpunk 2077 etc.), or are far to safe.
That direction tends to come from a single human being, and these tend to be the directors that make good games over and over again.
I think that, and holding back your ego to let the game be, is super important for making a strong game, and is evident by the amount of good games by nooby studios, or good studios making shitty games.
I am so relieved to hear about the linearity of the game. I am very tired of open worlds being open worlds jut for the sake of being open worlds. I've recently played a few focused, linear games and realized I had missed them so very much. Linearity gives you the pleasure of having moments filled with meaning at all times, versus just meandering about until you find something enjoyable.
Yeah, there's been too much of an obsession with open world games for a while now IMO. It feels like people want to be able to invest countless hours into games for the sake of it, "to get their money's worth", I don't know. But I'd much rather buy a game that's a superbly crafted 10 hour experience versus one that's an alright 100 hour experience. I don't want an open world that's just there to pad playtime.
It is a bit too linear however, there is exactly one side area you can go to that you can potentially skip storywise. Everything else is mandatory and most small side areas are for shortcuts. Having said that the areas are still well designed and cohesive. But exploration wise its not too stimulating like DaS 1 for example
@@the_rabidsquirelreminds me of my experience with Dark Souls 3. Very thoughtfully crafted, mostly linear game with surprises for those who found them but otherwise a great game throughout
The linearity makes things simple, but it also means you can't avoid or gear up for a boss you struggle with, and there isn't as much variety in your options in the earlier game
@@Nash- True, thankfully the early bosses are fairly easy comparatively. Up to Fuoco you can abuse the phantom to take aggro so you can wail on it
Iron Pineapple is quietly becoming one of the most measured and thoughtful game reviewers out there. God help the other journos when he branches out from souls likes
Get a room
I think it’s important sometimes for a journalist to have a specialty, so that you can understand the lens through which they view a game. Iron Pineapple has become such a great reviewer of these souls-likes from playing so many, probably more than anyone else as claimed. Branching out would negate that expertise. If IP were to branch out and review a racing game, what basis would I have for his review?
This issue really presents itself with big gaming reviewers, who hire out various journalists to review as many games as they can. If someone named “Charles Rook” from Konami reviewed Lies of P, and gave it the exact same score IP had, we would not be able to trust it as well because we do not know the experience that “Charles Rook” has.
Anyways, just a thought.
So true
@@lukew6725so?
Having just beaten it yesterday, I've gotta say this is a brilliant assessment of the game. Pineapple's insights are really on point. ONE TIP THAT REALLY HELPS - when an enemy has their stagger meter going, you can throw a shot put at them to bring up the crit opportunity. Keep them handy. 😅
This game in my opinion is one of the few masterpiece level games that have come out in recent years. This game had me so in love and invested and I’m almost addicted to just every part of this game. And the difficulty it could be very unforgiving at times especially in the later parts of the playthrough but once you learn these things it makes it so much more satisfying to complete these areas or battles
literally my thoughts
the game isnt just good or great, its masterpiece levels of good
It's garbage.
@@B.L.S.git gud
@@B.L.S.avg soulsborne stans after knowing a good soulslike can be made without fromsoftware
Iron Pineapple never disappoints. I really like how you take the time to talk about the smaller parts of the game without dwelling on them too much.
“You don’t have to parry everything” so true the second phase of the Puppet king when he uses his flame blade I literally just ran. Just Running away works rather well on most big attacks as well.
I struggled with parries so much, that I went up to Laxassia mostly with dodging and running
A little late to the party, but you can nullify Romeo's fire attack if you land a full fable art after he's done buffing his scythe, you'll stagger him and it will remove the fire buff.
you dont have to, but parrying is what makes lop fun. I can beat any boss in under a minute with known cheese strats, but i'd rather just parry them to death, simply cause its so enjoyable.
I didn’t parry or block once until Steve the unnamed puppet
I loved that I dodged mostly and every once in a while got a couple good parry's. But I don't think I would have beat nameless without some perfect parry's
I would like to mention that with the level design, the boss fights are fore shadowed extremely well, like the posters for the parade puppet or the shock meter before the guard puppet
God, speaking of the guardsman puppet, that little slip of paper before the boss telling you why it's gone haywire and the fact it's still a friend to kids (maybe?) and then running into that kid in the petrification disease quarantine zone was just depressing
just wait until you hear what it was saying during the fight :( @@DaJokurr
@@DaJokurrwait is there a dead kid in the quarantine zone? I didn’t notice legit at all
@@Alex-fb5ec Nono, not a dead kid, he's down an alleyway where the dogs jump through the windows at ya, he'll say something about his friend and that he can't play anymore due to being sick, when you beat the guard puppet, it'll give you a whistle, which will show up in the teleport menu inside the stargazer for the area that the kid is in, just look around there a little and you'll be able to find him and play the whistle outside his window to get some free ergo
Not to mention that cutscene before King fight showing what's going to happen and Gs plan
When you said "i want people to succeed and have fun" i really believed you. Idk why but your delivery just feels so...genuine. good video
My only complaint is the lack of a poise mechanic. As a strength build some of these bosses felt near impossible. Every attack I do gets instantly canceled if even a flake of dust grazes Pinocchio’s skin
Yeah that's why we gotta go hard on HP and dmg lmao that's literally all I'm focusing in on right now
@@mecha_nemesis_6897or capacity and becoming super dodgy
Hopefully, the strategy doesn't become "just hit-trade because you'll only get in around 1 hit anyway" like Elden Ring reinforced.
To clarify, I'm not saying the solution is "give the player poise/armour" or "deal enough damage so that I don't have to interact with the boss osten", but I've found this to be a problem with slower weapons in recent Soulslikes. I think DS3 found a good rythm with the enemy's offense that gives STR weapons room to shine.
There is a fable art called Killer Strike, on the living-puppet axe. It is one of the very few Fable Arts that has hyper armor. Plus is deals bonus damage if the enemy swings at you while you do it
😂 LOL!!!! This is EXACTLY what i dislike about most souls games allowing u build around a strength tank play style! The poise, balance, posture, etc is 90% of the time useless. It's like why even bother adding it in the game to begin with?!
So I wrote a review on Lies of P (I am working as a video games journalist for a German website) and you basically shared the same praise and criticism for the game as I did, which felt unbelievably validating. I was also shocked on how many people treated this as just another souls like and threw it onto the pile next to fun, but not even remotely close games like Thymesia, Steelrising or the mentioned Mortal Shell. While I struggled a lot on my playthrough (Laxasia took me almost three hours) I really enjoyed my time and gushed about the combat system. The game is difficult and demanding, but it sure as hell is rewarding too, once you truly master these bosses. Great video!
Gotta love how Neowiz continues the tradition of having a sexy tall lady be one of the hardest bosses in the game
Something I found out since I bought the Pre-Order Version of the game. May not mean much to anyone but details like this to me are so awesome and appreciated. When you walk into your fight with the Parade Master, he screams robot nonsense at you. If you have the Pre-Order Version. You have a Parade Master mask you can equip. If you are wearing that mask when you walk into the fight instead of screaming robo shit at you he is laughing. I thought that was really cool.
I think, for those without the pre-order version, Venigni gives you the Ergo Wavelength Decoder, which allows you to hear the scrambled puppet speech from bosses. I think it only works in new game though, but still pretty cool!
@@JustMothman NG+ is where that happens, I watched Gingy's story review
@@JustMothmanyou’re meant to get it in the story
Just a quick note: the get up from being knocked down and chaining dodges have been updated. They are parts of your core abilities, unlocked from the start of the game.
Playing it and you have to upgrade a fair bit to get them. I'm past halfway and could have had them recently just choose others instead
Chain dodges still require quartz in v1.5.0.0 it's called "Link Dodge" in Phase 1.
The amount of care and choice with your overviews and how you present them is never unnoticed
This tip might be a bit late, but I played through the game with a strength build and had the exact same charge-up stagger problem. I learned later that the shot putt item (that you can buy from the merchant in the Red Lobster Inn) can actually be used to trigger that stagger window! Super useful for bosses ther either push you away during their stagger window or for weapons that swing really slow!
The chain/rope legion arm can do the same thing.
Didnt use that weapon but i noticed with some you could do a normal attack and the charged heavy attack would be differenf sometimes faster than the standard but youd still have to get a decent window as soon as i got the Two dragon katana i didnt switch since it had a parry R2 which was so satisfying to land
You can also put a fast light weapon in your second slot and just switch to that for staggers. I did it for a bit but eventually got comfortable enough finding openings with my main.
@@AlsoAlaskanBeardwhat legion arm is this?
@@acoustic_.puppet string level 3
So I have been playing this game for a while now and I came across this fantastic video again after seeing it when the game first came out and I wanted to comment again now that it has been a while and I have been progressing through the game slowly but enjoyably. Here is what I wanted to share:
1. Either the devs really respect your opinion a great deal (like I do) or they just know what feedback to listen to and what not to in improving their game because the patch so far has make the companion more robust, slightly increased the parry window and decreased the HP of a few first phase bosses so you can get to phase two faster and a few other tweaks EXACTLY as you recommended. So, well done!
2. Because I did not have much experience with other souls likes due to my poor playing, I feel like this game may have clicked with me more than some who are more in tune with the genre as a whole. For me, much of the strategy for these fights came fairly naturally. Big bosses with big slow hits... block regular attacks and get the heck away when they turn red (mostly). Fast multi-attack enemies, side step or dodge and try to get behind them. I also was able to lean to parry a great number of the mobs and bosses because I had no preconceived notion of timing. It just was what it was. I suspect this is more difficult to adjust to when you have played hundreds of hours of games where the timing is usually more crisp and rapid.
3. This game is surprisingly SUPER friendly to the more inexperienced players despite its difficulty. I am in chapter 8 right now despite the fact that I suck because the game lets me be creative in facing harder enemies if I am struggling and it does seem to have a build that is "easier" IMO. I am using an Advance build (magic). Weapons are easy to get and very effective if you use the right status affect against the right enemy. This also makes your inexpensive elemental throwables INSANELY effective. Also, the buddy being buffed now really helps in the few fights I found a bit overwhelming like first fight with the gang.
4. The game rewards approach diversity. This goes hand in hand with the last point. For example, at the time you made this video I don't think you knew it yet, but a shot put throwable will stagger an enemy when they become vulnerable. So, for a slow weapon STR build that has a tough time getting a charge attack in, you just step back and throw a shot put. Done. Another great example is that damn fat clown. Yes you can beat him if you learn his moves. Yes it can be done with any weapon if you have the skill. For me, the fat clown was a deal breaker. Her WRECKED me and was a sub boss so no helper. In the end. I just chose a different way to handle him: chuck all 15 of my elemental throwables at him and then use the shield Legion arm (Ageis) to keep blocking him and hitting him simultaneously until he was dead. Done.
In the end, the setting, music, visuals and fight polish makes this game a pure pleasure to me and has emboldened me to really try harder on other souls like games. I am even playing Lords of the Fallen right now too and, despite traversal mechanics launching me off heights and way too many adds that can hammer you at range, I am doing better than I expected there as well. So, I cannot express vehemently enough how much I agree with your sentiments on this game. It has literally opened up a whole new avenue of enjoyment for me.
It really did satisfy my souls like Itch after Elden Ring. One of my top 3 souls like games. The World was something else.
This game is like stumbling into an old friend you haven't seen for years.
You remember their face and the great times you had together but they have matured and grown and have all sorts of new stories to share.
That’s a really great way of putting it, but it makes me sad for some reason
@@ashes_blue because you know years ago, things were much simpler and easier to just take at face value. Your nostalgia for how things used to be is conflicting your current day desires, and whether or not you can reconcile the two... only you'll know the answer to that.
@@Count_Virgil Goddamn... That's some straight up sage knowledge. For real, I pictured Gandalf saying that and it didn't seem out of place in the slightest lol
Also for anyone who doesn't know, when you build the stagger meter on large enemies and bosses (glowing white bar) you dont necessarily have to land a heavy attack. Some fable arts work too. Or the simple thing is throw a shot put at the enemy. Instant stagger.
@@EllaKarhuYup, after unlocking shot put in my NG run I respec'd my p-organ and immediately removed all stagger window duration nodes. There's just no need for them after getting that item.
I think a pro-tip for anyone who is starting this game would be : NEVER leave the hotel, or go on exploring, with ergo. Even a sawtooth wheel can be a useful item in a boss fight or to detonate barrels, or to drop enemies off ledges, or to draw individual aggro from a distance. It became part of my gameplay loop to quickly teleport to Malum before going out on missions, to top up on shotputs and other throwables. While I didnt really spec or focus too much on using them in fights, having them available (especially the shotputs to stagger) and remembering to use them, felt so damn good.
I wish I knew that before I was on the last boss lol
@@mrfroboto1 I found out completely by accident on the door guardian and I was like "dang I need to keep a stock of these on me" lol
Shotput is the real hero. I'm using more consumables on ng+, and they're still really strong.
Even if you're not hitting the posture break, the extra stagger damage can be a game changer. No more fire scythes for Romeo.
Just finished Lies of P this morning. I can't believe how much it landed with me. Easily my favorite new release of 2023.
For some reason, I never killed more then 3 bosses in Elden Ring. I felt frustrated, but I enjoy Lies of P
really hope there is an dlc coming
@@machinemanbiggWas the complete opposite for me. Finished the demo and never wanted to touch the game again. Elden Ring's open world was enough for me to push through the mucky bosses.
@@goldman77700You missed out
@@dynamicflashy Nah I'm good. Demo was enuff for me. Just started playing Jedi Survivor too.
This was a very very good review, and you definitely did the same justice. Solid opinions, wonderful script, several moments made me giddy when you mentioned specific mechanics or moments, or put my fist in the air in celebration.
im impressed how they managed to pack a 30+ hour campaign in such a linear game and not make it repetitive, not many game studios can pull that off
Does that time include having to retry bosses? I do wonder how much of that is considered in a game like this.
Bruh I'm at 40 of my first playthrough and I'm in the swamp. I think I'm getting old.
@@epyjacek One reviewer said they did lot of side-stuff and took 60h. Youre not getting old, you're in for the ride not to run thro =P
@daruddock so you can get through half the game as a new player in just 6 hours. or you can do it in 30 hrs. indid both on 2 separate plays
I completed the true ending doing almost everything possible in the first playthrough( only lost Adelina and Belle quests) and exploring each corner. Finished the game in about 30 hours, I used a op build (saw blade, fast handle) so the bosses weren’t that tough. So yeah i would say the game is about 35 40 hours long.
This is a game I went into skeptical of with low expectations, and it really impressed me. 15 hours in and it's one of my favourites in the genre
Work on your English.
I played the demo so I knew this game was gonna be special. Glad you’re enjoying it. Don’t give up!
Lies of p is my introduction to souls like games and it is crazy difficult. But it also made me fall in love with a genre I, for years, didn’t give a second thought. And I feel like I’ll be at least a little bit more prepared for all the other from soft titles with it being so hard but that being said I’ve been stuck on the final boss for 2 days now and I’m debating giving up (it’s the final optional boss you can get depending on your ending)
It's one of the very rare games that has a sequel tease scene at the end that made me genuinely feel "I cant wait"
There are very few things that can muster such sincere desire for a sequel from me - imagine all the great ideas, refined, expanded...
Edgy
@@cdogthehedgehog6923 how is that edgy lol
@@Trollensky "Very few things that can muster such sincere desire..."
I guess cringe with a pinch of edge would be more accurate to whatever the hell that was.
@@cdogthehedgehog6923 what?
@@JohnSmith-kt3yy huh
I need Gepetto's lines about P being a good boy modded into elden ring to replace Margit's lines IMMEDIATELY
Same voice actor so it will fit
@@Chaos_Senpai That is wild, good for him getting good roles in a number of notable games
@@Chaos_Senpaiyes.. that's the point
If they don't make him say the word "tarnished" at least once, I'm boycotting the game
And a mod that does the opposite so Gepetto berates you as being a fouled tarnish.
It's incredible how this guy makes a 27 minute video feel like 5 minutes, outstanding job.
Wait what the fuck? It was 27 minutes?
Truest thing I've read all week
@@fate9567ikr thats how you know its engaging
I think some of it has to do with IronPineapple's narrative style. Really good at sounding natural while still coming off as well-scripted and not too conversational. The editing is also fast-paced without being twitchy and overwhelming. Among the TH-cam GOATs IMO, especially in the gaming space.
Você aqui mineirin 😁
Brother, I think you make the best game review videos on TH-cam. I love watching your stuff, even if I don't intend to play whatever you're reviewing. Great great stuff my dude. Never stop.
You legit make the best game reviews out there imo. The amount of care you put into every facet of a game is staggering, and being able to approach it from an empathetic perspective for everyone involved (the devs and players), is super cool. 🤘can’t wait to start my playthrough!
16:49 As someone who has been using the Specter shamelessly, they can easily survive entire bosses after getting Wishstone access, since there is a Wishstone that will heal your Specter by 50%. This can be compounded with the P-Organ traits of Faster Wishtone Use (makes it as quick as a Pulse Cell) and Increased Wishstone Uses of which so far I personally have 2 uses, so essentially 200% HP Specter.
I use the one where they take 100% aggro because it allows me to just get free damage lmao
Specters are like Ash summons in Elden Ring. They’re a part of the game, by all means use and interact with the games mechanics, it’s why they’re there. Folks should never be ashamed for engaging with the games mechanics.
Yeah they are part of the reason why I went full attack glass canon because I can fully charge an R2 back to back that they survive almost any boss in the game. Recently I have tried to perfect parry and use a faster weapon and I have to say it's super fun to study the attack patterns of a boss and read him like a book.
I personally find that it feels like cheating. The bosses aren't designed to fight two players, and as such they end up chasing a spectre and eating damage. If the spectres were weaker, or the boss prioritised attacking the player I think using spectres would be more of a choice
I love your review, Pineapple. You are very critical, concise and hits the point, not many other reviewers can do that. Your points are valid, and you try to see the whole perspective rather than from a one sided view. Keep on being you.
That said, review more games! I have watched every video on your channel, and love to see more!
I like the premise with lying vs telling the truth. Thematically it’s really interesting.
It doesn't do much with It tbh
@@GroovyLeon How so?
@@eneco3965because it doesn’t really matter in the game?
@@GroovyLeon It directively affects the whole narrative and ending and P's behavior, it does do much.
@@KoreanSpy1997 It's literally just a couple of yes or no questions that changes the ending. That doesn't change anything gameplay related so it really doesn't matter as the other guy said.
After 15 hours in, I’m wondering who these devs are. This amount of polish is incredible, and is becoming my favorite souls-like. For these guys to come out of nowhere for me makes me interested in what they do next
Same, it's bizarre they've just appeared from nowhere and created this masterpiece. Definitely on my radar going forward alongside fromsoft
Lies of PP
I heard these guys were the ones behind Bless. They’ve certainly come a long way.
Yea I hope the game sells well so we can get DLC or a sequel. These guys get it. They know what fromsoftware fans want and they gave it to us while we wait for elden ring DLC
@@loowisk1113 yeah this game is sick. Every new area I find is just wow when you first see it. The animations are great, weapons are really fun to experiment with and the story is pretty cool.
You had me at the weapon section of mixing handles and blades. That’s amazing.
This Game definitely deserves all the praise it can get, It's absolutely phenomenal!
Also I did just want to say, That as someone who loves Sekiro the most out of all Souls-Like Games, Nah dude... Sekiro is WAY harder then this Game lol.
The Greed-Eyed Swamp Monster Boss was the ONLY Boss in Lies of P that I died to more then 10 times, Everything else, Even the final boss only killed me about 6-8 times max, This Game is quite easy when compared to Sekiro "Where I died dozens of times on even mini-bosses let alone the 30-40+ times on the Bosses themselves lmao.
But yeah a very fair review all things considered, Great video dude!
Frankly, the parry window being a tiny bit too small and the linearity of the game are the only weaknesses for me, personally. Everything else is straight-up perfect, and I've never seen game developers, apart for fromsoft, showing so much respect for the player. I mean, the level design is up there, and the enemy variety is insane. They literally made new enemies in every level you traverse. The amount of work and passion put into this game is tremendous. Massive respect for the dev.
The linearity is a real thing. The thing I thought was lacking is the presence of atleast one secret area accesible by dark turns or strange shit. But (unpopular opinion I guess) I kinda like when games are a little more linear too, I just have to focus on making my way through enemies and I find it kind of soothing.
I really like level designs of games like dark souls (mainly the first one), etc, where you get lost in totally different zones from where you were aiming, and find items and enemies... But it tends to get exhausting sometimes.
Yeah, the parry window and the linearity are my biggest complaints as well. My third biggest complaint is just how many enemy movesets are near identical to enemies from actual FromSoft games. This didn't hurt the experience for me anywhere near as much as the parry window did, but it definitely broke my immersion more than a few times. It got much less common in the later half of the game though, which was nice.
Linear it's not a flaw it's a design choice go play Elden Ring
@@LucianA-e5e A design choice can end up being a flaw...It's not incompatible.
Also, I can play Lies of P and Elden ring...It's not incompatible, either.
i get where you're coming from, but as a first time soulslike game player, the linearity helps me. I know im going on the right track instead of lost and getting frustrated because i keep dying. I do die constantly, but at least i know im making a progress.
I think one thing about Lies of P, is that some of the movement mechanics are locked behind the skill tree, so it might feel a little clunky at first. Once you get upgrades like the second dodge, it starts to feel a lot more fluid.
Interesting
A lot of people also complain about too low stamina. Upgrade stamina (!!) it really makes the game very fluid. Elden Ring required HP, Lies of P stamina. Later in the game there’s a great stamina amulet which makes everything super pleasant
Huh. The demo felt pretty stiff to me, so that's nice to know.
Hmm. I might have to give it some more time, then. Got to the first proper boss and things just weren't feeling good/right/satisfying.
I think this aspect is actually a weakness of the game. Purposely making a problem out of nothing and then giving a solution as an upgrade.
This review is a perfect example for why it's necessary to have someone who understands the game and genre, to give people an accurate depiction beyond a subjective gut feeling.
Exactly what i was thinking!
Most reviews are directed at general audiences, rather than the genre audience that's already likely to get it. Maybe that should change, but that's why reviewers often do games that aren't really up their alley.
As I’ve long said, the problem with journalists is they went to school for journalism. You don’t have Economist, Physicists, “Gamers” writing the articles about these subjects. You have some journalists that probably understands it worse than their typical reader.
I think he was still a bit biased though. He clearly likes the game and tried to downplay the negatives.
@@chammy2812 Most Gaming Journalist are not real journalist, they never learned it by school. Also games are extreme subjective topic, a good journalist is not somebody who make a good job but make a job close to your subjective view.
I TOTALLY agree with everything you said Pine. This was my GoTY for 2023. Well done.
Lies of P was a massive surprise to me who was cynical about its relatively silly elevator pitch. It has some of the most satisfying combat and certainly some of the best bosses the soulslike genre has to offer, and it most certainly has the best cutscene direction, miles ahead of what fromsoft has put out. Seriously. This game's cinematics are pure art.
The bosses are just plain awesome. Difficult, intense, yet fair. And a lot of them are legit terrifying in their visual design. This game is really something special; it scratches the same itch as FromSoft games while having enough unique features and mechanics to be its own entity rather than a ripoff.
Not to mention the technical aspects of this game, AAA-quality graphics with silky smooth performance. FromSoft would never XD
I'll tell you the true: I was thinking about buying LoP, but after this video I prolly wont. The game is a beuty, the fight system seem exceptional, the level of work put into this game is simply astounding. But from what Iron say I prolly would buy and let it sit aside. For the simple reason that I play barely an hour aday, so I wont be have the time to experiment, the time to "git good", the time to have fun. It's basically a game that require a level of commitment I dont have the time to invest into. A pity, but unless I find a less stressful and intensive work it would just be a waste of money. Sigh.
When we conducted a closed test in Korea, the level of difficulty was more difficult than it is now. (The is that the boss has become about 3 times weaker.) The balance has been achieved to the current level. If it had come out as tested, it would have been incredibly difficult. The closed test attack pattern and speed was also more vicious. This applies not only to bosses but also to regular enemies. (Of course, it's still difficult, but. Therefore, the boss becomes easier if you fight while using items. I think the production company designed a way to make it easy to fight. The item is stronger than you think.)
By best bosses you mean those winding up every attack for like 3 seconds and executing them in a split frame? Memorizing is just more fun than reacting for some people I guess.
I'd recommend Final Fantasy XIV since there are even more memorizings in that game for you.
I think you nailed the nuiance of the best parts of this game as well as where it could improve without diminishing either. Great work
I was a bit on the fence about whether I should buy the game or not, but this video has made me feel very confident that I will enjoy it. I would also like to point out that once again, you are really proving just how good you are at making these reviews.
Your videos are always so thorough, constantly showing footage to accompany your points while being extremely fair and positive, with seamless transitions between different sections. Not only do I agree with pretty much everything you've said about the game and game design as a whole (for instance, I also think level design plays a crucial role into making these games fun to play), but I also think that this was a delight to watch.
Once again, thanks a lot for uploading another fantastic video, stay safe!
So glad this review exists. I finally played this recently and was horrified at the way the internet treated this game. There are very few opinions on this game in between either that it is too hard, unfair and needs to be completely reworked or that the game is good but isn't more than a Bloodborne/Sekiro clone. This game is not only mechanically and visually separated from FromSoftware, but it also matches them in so many ways, it is beacon of hope for there to be more variety and competition in this beautiful genre and I'm glad someone with this much authority agrees with me.
Also, can we take a moment to talk about how the boss soundtracks are freaking phenomenal? Every boss sounds like you're fighting at the end of the world or in hell itself
Completely agree!
I was getting bullied by that clown and his flame bros to the most beautiful music ever. Amazing soundtrack.
they're ok
The King of Puppets boss theme shouldn’t hit as hard as it does
@@jillsandwitch67 you're ok
That “and unlike Pinocchio, I’m not lying” with the epic music montage literally sent shivers down my spine. Fantastic video that has officially convinced me to buy this game
I still can't believe I got this for free on Gamepass
It’s free on game pass right now if you got an Xbox , not sure about pc
Where is that?
its on pc yea
bro the music was so good at the end. I loved it i had goosebumps from that alone honestly
Thank you for giving Lies of P the recognition it deserves. It has become one of my favorite Souls-likes, possibly even favorite games, ever. I love its combat, level design, story, voice performances, lore, builds, art, music, level of polish and attention to detail.
It's garbage.
"It feels familiar." Yes, in the best way. It is like finding a NEW favorite sweater. This game is so underrated. As a fan of Nier Automata, Bioshock, AND Dark Souls, I can't believe people can't see the broader blend of things this game obviously is.
It didn't get the recognition it deserved
Nice to know I'm not the only person who felt a twinge of BioShock in it.
fun fact, the music in 25:00 is a remix of a song from a music rhythm game DJMAX by the same developer. as a rhythm game aficionado, DJMAX is easily one of if not the best music game series with some of the most varied and excellent songs. Lies of P definitely has a "nepotism" advantage by being able to just draw directly from the OST of one of the most legendary music rhythm game series that been producing songs for over a decade lol. The original "Feel" is a faster more upbeat pop song with clear y2k vibes and it's one of my fav songs to play - th-cam.com/video/vp8mJYJYOIs/w-d-xo.html . if ur curious also youtube search DJMAX Miles, DJMAX Everyday, and DJMAX Dream of you, DJMax Rock a doodle doo
bro I knew I recognized that song from somewhere holy shit
okay nerd , the song is alright
@@justagamer1160 "okay nerd" Dude you are justagamer1160 on a video about Pinocchio the video game. Your name might as well be "nerdboythemagnificent".
fascinating, thank you for this information.
Man if they do a DJMAX collab with some of the music in this game that'd be amazing
Dont know if anyone mentioned yet but most songs you can play in hotel are actually remastered versions of songs from their rhythm game djmax. Its very cool how they adapted all those different genre of songs into something like this
wait wait wait...
they also made djmax??
@@meodrac different studio, but both are under Neowiz
the aesthetic of this game is just superb and i loved every second of the difficulty
In a somewhat silly way, Lies of P is itself a Souls protagonist.
It's a game made by a small studio with a silly premise going up against an impossible beast, a terrifying, undefeated leviathan: FromSoft's recent works. By all means, it is nothing, it should be dead, it should give up, it should just _die..._ and yet it fights. It fights and it fights and it fights and it tears victory from the beating heart of a cruel world to stand alongside the giants it follows in the footsteps of.
The thing about the perfect guard mechanic is that as opposed to sekiro you can’t tap the block button if you want the full parry window, you have to hold it for a bit more than just a tap or else your character will drop the guard near instantly. It has its pros and cons, it allows you to act much sooner after releasing it since it’s non-commital but this means you’re going to have to create this muscle memory of holding instead of tapping. Once I understood this the parry window felt fair and it became a very reliable tool for speeding up the fights.
yeah, I read that yesterday and it helped a lot, though I still have a lot of muscle memory from Sekiro
Thanks for sharing, this sounds like a pretty big deal. I'm surprised the tutorial fails on this.
yeah everyone that played sekiro before has already developed a spesific muscle memory for sekiro parry gonna have a hard time get used to lies of p parry but once you get used to it actually becomes reliable.
You're welcome, I think is that the developers failed to fully understand the way the mechanic works in Sekiro thinking that they did it right, i've noticed that these developers really studied the design in fromsoft games to make Lies of P up to standards that most souls fans seek and the obvious example is enemy placement, enemy quantity per space and matching enemy moveset with the environment to present a specific challenge to the player.
They tried their best in incorporating the mechanic from sekiro while adding their own flavor but missed the mark by a little and i dont blame them, there's a lot of details in fromsoft's design that makes the overall experience as good as it is and its hard for a developer to exactly understand why it work which is why Souls like devs have been having troubles creating really good games in this genre, althought with the release of LoP, Remnant 2 and possibly Lords of the Fallen, things might change in the future.@@DesignFrameCaseStudies
@@heyblasty8614why is the sekiro version of parrying 'right' and lies of p 'wrong'?
If you're using a template but want your own spin, why is one version better than another, or at least right or wrong?
Is it simply because sekiros parry system is what sekiro players are used to?
One thing I’ve seen a lot of people overlook is how absolutely crazy the enemy variety is in this game. I was shocked when, on the victory lap area IMMEDIATELY before the final boss, I still encountered an enemy I’d never seen before. Most areas manage to introduce at least 1-2 new enemies even between each checkpoint, and a lot of enemies only appear once so things always remain fresh. Plus even if/when some of those enemies are reskins, they always feel unique to fight. Genuinely shocked that the devs managed to cram in more enemies than even some fromsoft games and use them so well
I really never write yt comments but here I just really wanna say that your review is marvelous! Lies of Pi is such a masterpiece. I really really cant say how much I enjoyed playing this game!
I bet you if TH-cam told you it wasn’t good , you’d be echoing that. I don’t believe you actually enjoyed it. The game is a dumpster fire. People are brainwashed it’s fucking pathetic
Thank you so much for this extremely considerate review that I've only seen now after finishing the game a while ago! I love how much you respect games as an art, and how you flesh out in detail why Lies of P qualifies to be regarded as its own piece of art, even though it is obviously standing on the shoulders of giants. The only thing I missed in this game was the jumping / verticality of Sekiro, but other than that, it was so well executed that I cannot wait to see what this team is up to next. And the hint at the end of the game in terms of the setting for the next one makes me all the more eager for it.
So i don’t think anyone will carry about this, but this was actually the first souls like game that i managed to play, just got to the final chapter and I’m having a blast with it. Loved the story and mechanics of it, i get the people that say it’s a hard game, but for me that had tried a few other souls like and didn’t manage to progress it at all, it fitted perfectly for me. So i do recommend it for if you might be in doubt, it’s 100% worth it. Great video and great content man, keep up with it.
Did you ever play Bloodborne? I ask as someone who is terrified of difficult games and always plays normal mode on most games. But Bloodborne was the first souls game I beat. Would you still recommend Lies of P? I wanna play it but I'm really skeptical. Also I've ruined some of the story just by looking it up so much 😅
@@michaelbush1374 imo, Lies of P difficulty is equal to difficulty of Dark Souls 3 DLC (I played), or like Bloodborne DLC (which i haven't played). I'm currently in the middle of playthrough, and after that point bosses are hard as souls DLC's. Aside from bosses - rest of the game isn't that hard
@SanOK1Play I actually ended up buying and beating it. The levels were kinda easy, but I struggled with the bosses. The bosses are more difficult than Bloodborne dlc bosses for some. Perhaps besides Orphan of Kos or the two shark giants guarding Rakuyo. At a certain point I got my ass handed to me by Laxasia too many times and thought okay it's farming time. I fought her at level 97 at first, then farmed until I was level 256. Needless to say I got first try my next round with Laxasia, first try on Simon Manus and the Nameless Puppet. Went a little overboard I guess 😅
@@michaelbush1374 Jesus christ I stopped my run after beating ng+3 and I was like lvl 335 after beating the last boss, you're a Madman lmao
My only advice that could help you after all this time is to use the whetstone to buff your weapon that lets you block everything during her 2nd phase. It makes the whole fight extremely easy as you don't have to panic so much.
I completely agree with you. This game is still underrated. I hope more players enjoy it.
This game was a blast to play. Music and scenery was absolutely phenomenal, and it’s execution as a soul like was beautiful.
song at the end is "why" for anyone wondering
Honestly the passion you had on display talking about and reviewing lies of p saying "im not satisfied with saying its good nah its from soft level" im like god damn I bought the game on the spot man thanks for the great review. I am glad I vote with my wallet and am also excited to see what this studio does next
17:24 There is an item called "Shot Put" that you can use on staggerable enemies to immediately stagger them if you're using weapons too heavy and slow to do it with charged attacks, I learned it so far into the game (it didn't bother me so much since I was using fast Dex weapons), but its good to keep in mind especially considering you can buy infinite amounts of it from a merchant in Malum District.
I think giving parry few more frames and making fable arts give your character hyperarmor OR not costing fable charges if they are interrupted would be a good change to begin with, especially considering enemies have poise but your character don't.
Well, your fable arts DO have poise, it's just at specific times. I þink ðe rapier ult has hyperarmor for ðe last attack.
I've been playing it and am neatly finished and it's sooo good, honestly one of my favourites from the 'souls like' genre, the art design is impeccable, the combat is smooth the weapon variety and movesets are really good and buttery smooth, honestly been loving it
After clearing NG++ and 100% the whole game, i wholehearted agree with everything you says
This game gets more addicting and fun as you progress further into the game and get the flow of the game
NG+ is super fun and challenging too.
16:48 That's where the Wishstones come in. Plenty of different options to help your ghostly pal, although they are a bit limited. I didn't really use the Specter for the majority of my playthrough (just King of Puppets, seriously that guy was annoying), but it's nice they kept him in mind for people that like to have a friend. The ability to buff him with different status effects probably works wonders too.
The fact that the wish stone mechanic was omitted is because it's very bad. They take forever to use, don't last very long at all (borderline feels like their buffs last about as long as the thing takes to activate) and have a straight up *stupid* 20 minute cooldown between refreshing with new stones. It's a totally forgettable mechanic.
@@YangBalanceYin uhm, what? Do you not know what they do or did you just use them once in one boss fight? The wishstone can completely change the outcome of a boss fight. I made the puppet king a non factor by giving the spectre blitz and watching him get staggered every 3 hits. If you don't understand how to properly use a mechanic doesn't mean the mechanic is bad, that sounds like a you issue.
@@TomasaurusrexQQwhere spectere blitz?
@@TomasaurusrexQQ Nah fuck off with that. The wish stone is awful.
Giangio sells a wishstone that gives your spectre electric blitz for a little bit@@EJaDav
It is really amazing to see that they have done such an amazing job. It will definitely be a cornerstone for the next ones to come.
Ohhh iron pineapple. Always has that sound of truth, honesty,humble, kind, calm, and intelligent, a voice i can trust. Fantastic review made from your heart
Holy glaze he not gonna cuddle with you
Something much more impressive about this is that this is the company's first attempt at a souls like. And I personally think it's a fucking masterpiece. Sure there's balancing issues but at the same time it's genuinely so amazing what they created.
I do think the parry window is slightly too tight considering how drawn out some attacks could be, a slight increase to the window would go a long way in making it feel a little nicer. Still one of my favourite if not my favourite souls-like that's not from FromSoft
Agreed, getting the hang of the parry is tough for me. And i played sekiro mostly unupgraded
@@TimothyGod yeah in the demo I managed to nail the parry for the scrapped boss guy, but now can't get the hang of it. Hope the 30 fps trick for better parries etc didn't persist to the full game (might be talking out of my ass but felt easier at 30fps during the demo)
@@HeinSmit1 i probably just gotta practice
I agree, and I played Sekiro for over 100 hours. Talk about tight combat. A slight tweak would make all the difference in this game. Besides that I'm loving it.
@@JJsiN84 i did the second boss pretty well, it has some good tells to parry. That poison walking dude was rough, had to find a spot he couldn't reach and hit him
Absolutely incredible review. Honesty goes such a long way and its so clear how passionate you are about the genre. Loved all your previous videos and this one is another on top of that glorious pile :D
Great review, I love this game so much and it’s honestly my third favorite souls like only behind sekiro and Elden ring. I also actually really appreciated the linearity and really enjoyed being able to just go from boss to boss without feeling like I’m missing out on lots of content by not exploring more.
Same, I LOVED the linearity after Elden Ring. Sekiro was linearish with some branching paths, but level design was linear. I love having a crafted path so the boss progression makes sense. Elden Ring fell apart a little when you could do some late game things early and make early game bosses trivial.
linear games are almost better at this point. I like it when i know that i am on the right path and not in the wrong area at the wrong time.
idk i loved elden ring but in general open world games more and more the older i get is less of a bonus for me.
i was on the fence about getting this game after seeing one of my friends play it for a few minutes in a discord call but honestly pineapple just seeing how genuinely expressive you are about how much you enjoy this game has done it for me definitely going to give it a completion and see what you mean :) thanks for another amazing video you really are one of the best if not the best doing it and you deserve as much praise as you give this game!
This game and its creators deserve all the praise and success of the world!
No, the game has lots of flaws, including uninspired locations and boring gameplay
@@DiegoTan66 found the guy stuck on fuoco
no, game is just boring copy of souls, sekiro snd bloodbourne
Lmao those dudes saying the game is boring, git gud bois, this game is amazing
“Game is boring. Game is uninspired. Yadda yadda”
Please tell me you kids have never played a Souls game. Because _that_ would explain your dumb comments. But if _have_ played Soulsborne games and your complaining like a whiny b*tch, just tells me you scrubs never “got gud” and just relied on cheesing bosses to beat the games.
Sorry there’s BKH in this game. 😂 now learn those boss patterns
I'm already loving this game and I just started last night. Its my sincere hope that (much like Fromsoft) the devs of this game are able to make more games, iterating on what they have learned. Who knows, maybe one day they will stand toe-to-toe with From. Im curious to see how their games evolve and wish the devs nothing but the best. Great video as always Iron.
Also missed opportunity to title your video "The Lies of Pine" lmao
I hope so because we need to keep Fromsoft on their toes so they don't get lazy.
21:11 maybe a hot take but I personally admire these "bounce off" moments for souls likes. Its this part of the genre that keeps there communities healthy imo.
it reminds players that a game does not have to be a carbon copy to be outstanding
I "bounced off" Dark souls 1 about 9 times. All in all it took me two years for the game to click. When it clicked, sweet tapdancing Jesus, it clicked.
I'm glad that was my introduction, because I'm much more willing to give Soulslike games some time to click. Unless there's nonsense going on via constant cheap enemy placement or obvious hitbox fuckery. That makes a game hard in the same way jumpscares make a game scary.
I have NEVER enjoyed or completed a Soulslike but this game had me hooked and im currently on ng+ such a rich experience and i cant wait for the next!
I just beat the game. I loved the art design, combat (even if it felt "unfair" at times), but most of all its unique setting and story. I was skeptical that a story inspired by Pinnochio could draw me in and yet it did - I read all the dialogue, all the little secrets and books in the game just to learn more about its world. I can say I had a great time and look forward to DLC or a sequel.
Didn't think it was unfair at all
I agree with it being slightly unfair at times. I've seen my weapon go right through bosses and completely miss. Plus the lock on is not the most accurate
Only thing I've felt was unfair so far in my playthrough (I'm at the 3rd puppet) was the shovel puppet who can combo you on the ground.
@@MechFung there is a P Organ upgrade that lets you dodge to quickly get back up after getting knocked down. There can be a few moments where enemies will kick you while you're down so it does help in that regard
Disclaimer: I haven't played the game yet. I have, however, read quite a lot of reviews and been curious to hear your take. You are always well spoken in your reviews - even the short ones in the beloved *EVEN MORE* soulslike series - but especially here I can tell you were careful and deliberate in your review, editing your thoughts while playing with an open mind and ready to give criticism when due but also praise.
TLDR: You sold me on the game. Well said and well played, Pineapple. I'm the masochist among my gaming friends so what better journey than a difficult but worthwhile one such as this.
there was a point a little over halfway through the game (won't specify bc of spoilers) that I realized that this was the first souls/soulslike game I've played that has made me genuinely care about and feel for the character that I play as, and I think moving forward I'm gonna start to miss that in future games of the genre that I play. Feels like I'm really gonna start noticing the absence of that. The writing and worldbuilding in this game is seriously fantastic.
this game’s character work is so good, i’ve really come to love the characters on their own, and they also do a brilliant job of grounding them in the original tale of pinocchio. one detail i absolutely adored is that with the robot bosses with the corrupted speech, if you squint, you can make out what they’re saying. i figured this out during the scrapped watchman fight and quickly started to feel very guilty about fighting him lol.
I’m not sure which one you’re talking about, but I’ve started to really care about P. He’s clearly more than just a puppet, but I’m still not sure what. Hopefully I didn’t miss something. I just finished the swamp level for reference
Gemini FTW!
@@VioletOrbWeaveryou can also understand them in ngplus
I agree with everything you said, for real. Especially in terms of reacting to criticisms, thanks for not holding back. The game is a true accomplishment and needs to be respected. It's a really difficult game, punishingly agonizing at times - but fair. Incredibly well done, right up there with Fromsoft. I think a lot of ppl expect to win without putting in the required practice. And this one takes practice. I'm a souls player through and through, and the boss fights in Lies of P made me work harder than any Fromsoft game has. Towards the end of the game, I was getting tilted with how many relentless mini boss enemies there were, and ambushes. The final castle seemed to go on forever. The victory in this one is very sweet and makes you feel like a pro gamer. When it ended I was relieved bc of how hard it was. Haven't played it since.
This is a fantastic review, my dude. I'm so happy that Elden Ring sucked me into the world of Soulslikes and Soulsborne games.
I love that he called the character a 'twink'.. honesty that most reviews avoid.
I was very sceptical to this game after looking like 30 minutes of gameplay, but your review changed the way I looked to it. Thanks a lot I'll probably give it a try !
Great video. I’ve been playing it all week on Game Pass, feel like I’m in the middle of the end game phase and I’ve got to say, Lies of P is Game of The Year for me. Absolutely incredible, from gameplay to level design and how they’ve woven The Adventures of Pinocchio into this magical retelling. I’m in awe.
Well done NeoWiz and Round 8 👏
God, this is so cool. I remember iron pineapple playing the demo a while ago in one of his steam dumpster diving videos. To watch Lies of P blow up with success like this is incredible.
I’ll be honest it’s. A major struggle with how difficult it is. But it is so well done. Like you said, voice acting music world design everything. Beautiful and punishing
Just by watching your videos and listening to your analysis, the way I enjoy games has completely changed. I pick up on more details, I've become more critic, making me appreciate more and more the videogame industry. Great work, and i'm always waiting for your next video! (prob my first comment ever in TH-cam)